GRAIN CROPS. 163 ,, 



i 



with the cultivated crops, a worthless hybrid, and in other ways 

 prove detrimental to the growing crop. It prevents blasts and 

 vegetable diseases, to some extent. 



Thorough culture has a tendency to destroy and in otlier ways 

 prevent the ravages of insects and vermin, which sometimes 

 nearly destroy the crop. f 



Fourth. Some skill and judgment should be exercised in 

 selecting seeds for reproduction, as well as the time and manner 

 of sowing the same. Grain is not unfrequently found of 

 unquestionable vitality, and true to its kind, that was produced 

 under circumstances which render it unfit to use for seed. j 



The reproductive quality of seeds is sometimes improved by " f 



age, to what extent is a debatable question. It is generally 

 admitted that squash, pumpkin, and melon seeds are of that I 



class. * 



Tobacco seed, which has been kept for a long time, was 

 found to be very prolific, but rather deficient in foliage. The 

 same fact has been noticed in connection with some kinds of 

 grain which had been laid aside, and forgotten for a long time, 

 and afterwards used for seed. 



Samples of grain have come to us in connection with ancient 

 relics, which have proved quite productive and worth pre- 

 serving. 



In view of facts like these, it might not appear strange if 

 your committee should indulge a hope that through the influ- 

 ence of some antiquarian society there may yet be exhumed 

 from the sunny side of Eden (perhaps not far removed from 

 the tree of knowledge), a package of seeds which possess all 

 their native purity and original vitality. When this shall come 

 to pass, we trust tliey will be placed in the hands of some live 

 Yankee, who will make them useful. 



The condition of the soil, the state of the weather, and the 

 proper time for maturing seed, must regulate the time of sow- 

 ing. If sown in such a manner as to admit of after culture, 

 the quality of seed produced is very much improved. For 

 instance, oats, with ordinary culture, rarely produce more than 

 twenty-five fold ; if sown in drills, properly thinned and culti- 

 vated, they not unfrequently produce a thousand fold, and what 

 sensible man would not prefer seed for reproduction known to 



